NE Ohio municipal judge stripped of criminal cases

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports (http://bit.ly/1gvZ1AC ) a court order signed Friday moves Stokes' current criminal cases to an administrative judge and divides her future criminal cases among the court's 11 other judges who handle similar dockets.

The decision by administrative judge Ronald Adrine comes amid an investigation into allegations Stokes abused court staff, lawyers and defendants. A 49-page complaint filed with the Ohio Supreme Court's disciplinary counsel in October recommended psychiatric help in the face of 337 incident reports filed against her.

Stokes has denied virtually all claims, the newspaper reports.

Stokes will continue to handle civil cases, which represent a fraction of a municipal court judge's docket. Her resignation is not being sought.